ELMHURST, Ill.- When down 23-7 in the fourth quarter and having been shut out in both the second and third quarters, it’d be easy for some people to have doubt in their team.

Not Hinsdale Central coach Brian Griffin.

“Never any doubt, especially with these guys,” he said.

His squad rewarded him for his faith, rallying for 20 points in the fourth quarter to take down previously unbeaten York 27-23 in Elmhurst.

The win pulls the Red Devils into the conference lead, as they now carry a 6-1 overall and 4-o West Suburban Silver record. The win drops York to 6-1, 4-1.

“That is one hell of a football team that we beat. They had shut everybody out, and their defense is incredible,” Griffin said. “We kept telling our kids to keep believing in each other, next guy up. We had kids coming in and out of the game, it’s not just one kid.

“That’s how a conference championship type of game should be.”

The Dukes’ calling card this season has been their stout defense, one that hadn’t given up more than 10 points in a game and had outscored their opponents 201-34 through six games.

It was evident why as after Hinsdale Central’s Nicholas Fahy scored on the game’s first possession, the Dukes held the visitors scoreless for the game’s next 35 minutes.

“Our defense has played great all year and I think they woke up after that,” York coach Mike Fitzgerald said. “I was proud, our guys bounced back. They (Hinsdale Central) kind of took the momentum early but then our guys surged back and we controlled the tempo of the game until the fourth quarter when we slowly let it slip away.”